Door opens as Ron Paul heads for exit, and White House

Door opens as Paul heads for exitTo focus on presidential run, he won't seek a 13th House term

JOE HOLLEY, HOUSTON CHRONICLE |
July 12, 2011

The surprise decision by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, not to seek re-election to Congress, announced Tuesday via Twitter, prompted immediate speculation among both Democrats and Republicans about possible successors.

Paul said he expected at least a dozen candidates to eventually join the race to represent the Gulf Coast district stretching from Galveston County and the Houston suburbs to Jefferson County.

The 12-term congressman, 75, said he had been thinking for some time about not running. His announcement, he said, would give potential candidates for the District 14 seat time to plan a campaign. Paul said he would serve out his term and focus more strongly on his campaign for the presidency.

One with a definite interest in the race is Nick Lampson, a Beaumont Democrat who represented Texas' 9th Congressional District from 1997 to 2005 before falling victim to the controversial mid-decade redistricting effort engineered by then-House Majority Leader Tom Delay.

Lampson lost in 2004 to U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, regained a seat in 2006 when he defeated DeLay and lost again in 2008 to U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land.

"I certainly have an interest in taking a look at being back in Congress," Lampson said. "I don't want to go back and get caught up in all the divisiveness that's going on now, but I would really look at an opportunity to explore serving Texas."

University of Houston political scientist Richard Murray, a redistricting expert, noted that the newly drawn 14th district is very similar to the district Lampson represented before DeLay took it apart. "A strong Democrat deeply rooted in Jefferson County would have a chance," he said.

"Congressman Paul's announcement today not to seek re-election has created a rare opportunity for public service at the national level," Taylor said in a statement Tuesday. "I have received encouragement from conservative leaders across Texas this afternoon. It is an opportunity that I will consider very seriously in the coming weeks."

Jaworski, Medina?

Other possible candidates include Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski on the Democratic side and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina on the Republican side. Neither returned requests for comment, although Medina told the Texas Tribune it was doubtful she would run to replace the man who was something of a mentor to her, in part because she no longer lives in the redrawn district.

Paul said his surprise announcement had nothing to do with redistricting or criticism he had received in the past about running for two offices at once.

"I wasn't overjoyed with getting the new district, but that was not a major factor in my decision," he said.

A candidate for president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1988 and as a Republican in 2008, he said it was difficult to focus on two races at once. "It's possible to do and it's legal," he said, "but there was criticism, and thinking about it, there was some justification for the criticism."

Gold standard a catalyst

A Pennsylvania native, Paul moved to Brazoria County to practice obstetrics and gynecology in the early 1960s after receiving his medical degree from Duke University. His interest in the gold standard nurtured an increasing interest in politics. He won a special election to the Texas House in 1976, lost a bid for Congress two years later and then won a congressional seat in 1978. He ran for president as the Libertarian candidate in 1988, finishing a distant third with 432,000 votes.

The doctrinaire libertarian views of the congressman known as "Dr. No," including his outspoken opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have exasperated his fellow Republicans over the years. Some observers of this spring's redistricting process thought they detected payback for the congressman's years as a GOP renegade and tea party naysayer. GOP lawmakers denied the charge, although as Murray said, "They sure as hell didn't do Dr. Paul any favors."

Paul's colleagues, among them U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, had nice things to say about the House veteran in the wake of his announcement. "Ron Paul is a true and honest intellectual in the House and a good friend. In many respects, his policies turned out to be very visionary on the core role of the federal government and spending," McCaul said.

"Ron Paul has long been an unorthodox politician — someone who's defied GOP politicians, as well as Democrats," Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten Gray said. "He's likely to carry that quality into the GOP presidential field where he could cause problems for Rick Perry and other Republicans by calling them out for the hypocrisy and inconsistency within their party."

Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill labeled Paul's district as rock-solid Republican, regardless of who runs, and welcomed the prospect of a new congressman.

"It's good to get new blood in there, new ideas, new energy," Woodfill said.

Building on 2008 run

Paul said his 2012 presidential bid continues to build on support he received in 2008, when his candidacy and his unorthodox views attracted an enthusiastic grass-roots following and online support. He raised $34 million, largely through the Internet, including a single-day fundraising record of $6 million in December 2007.

"We didn't come out on top," he said Tuesday, "but we did come out on top on the issues - deficit spending, two wars, TSA, the Federal Reserve. People are talking about these issues."